What's Opera, Duck

Party tunes and showstoppers are on the program for What's Opera, Duck?, the annual informal showcase for University of Houston's Moores Opera Center students. ''We're doing a sort of greatest hits of opera and musical theater, along with some specialty numbers,'' says Buck Ross, director and founder of the center. ''It's all very audience-friendly. We're trying to give the students an informal, non-stuffy place to perform. And give the audience a place to just kick back and enjoy opera the way it should be, which is with a much more relaxed approach.''

Among the selections is ''Una Voce Poco Fa'' from The Barber of Seville, which the center is producing later in the season. ''Brian Yeakley is going to sing an aria from The Daughter of the Regiment with nine high C's in it, and César Torruella is performing 'Some Enchanted Evening.'''

The show is more of a party than a concert, and Ross says he likes it that way. ''That to me is just so much more appropriate. Music needs to be celebrated and be accessible rather than put on a pedestal. We do the whole art form a disservice to think that you have to study before you walk into an opera house; you should be able to enjoy opera the way that you enjoy the movies.''